Pride, Arrogance and Vanity
by Morning Lullabies
Summary: From the first moment I met you, your arrogance and conceit, your selfish disdain for the feelings of others made me realize that you were the last man in the world I could ever be prevailed upon to marry.-Pride and Prejudice Kyouya/OC Mention of Haru/Kyo
1. His Choice

_In my sick way I want to thank you for holding my head up late at night  
__While I was busy waging wars on myself, you were trying to stop the fight  
__You never doubted my warped opinions on things like suicidal hate.  
__You made me compliment myself when it was way too hard to take  
__So I'll drive so fucking far away that I'll never cross your mind  
__And do whatever it takes in your heart to leave me behind  
__Hate me today  
__Hate me tomorrow  
__Hate me for all the things I didn't do for you.  
__Hate me in ways, yeah, ways hard to swallow.  
__Hate me so you can finally see what's good for you._

**"Hate Me" – Blue October**

**Summary**: In order for Kyouya Ootori to inherit his father's business, he must be married. He chooses a bride from the US: the beautiful Raine Wilson; figuring if he can't love her, he can at least like to look at her. When she arrives, he dislikes her immediately, as she hates him for forcing her into a marriage she never wanted, and is rude in everyway possible, hoping that he'll go back on his decision and let her live her life the way she wants to live it. Kyouya refuses. Midst all of their fighting, they both fall for the other. Unfortunately, neither wants to surrender first and admit that they might possibly be able to live and love.

**A/N**: This is probably the most interesting fanfiction idea I have had in quite a while, hence why I am writing it. I have recently regained interest in fanfiction and may actually finish all of my stories, very soon. (I cannot live without at least 20 things going on at once. :D)

* * *

Kyouya Ootori sat with his father, staring with great boredom at the projection screen before him. This was so stupid, having to learn the name of every heir to every medical related company in the world! So far, it had been all the daughters, which Kyouya found strange.

His father firmly believed in the oldest son inheriting; not the oldest daughter or the widow of the previous owner. Kyouya suddenly found himself thinking that he was extremely lucky that both of his brothers were content as doctors living in small mansions out in the country, and had declined the inheritance.

"Kyouya, are you paying any attention to what I'm telling you?"

_Not really ._"Of course, Father."

Mr. Ootori frowned, seeing straight through his son's lie.

Sighing, Kyouya straightened up and looked back at the projection screen. On it was a young Japanese woman who would inherit the electronics company that made the beds that his father used in the hospitals they owned. Her name was Sayu Take-something-or-other. His father found her quite charming. Kyouya found her rather annoying.

Kyouya nodded his acknowledgement and acquaintance and his father continued. In every picture displayed, every woman smiled brightly, hopefully and they were all dressed in their best clothes and most expensive and largest jewels.

Mr. Ootori rambled on about each young woman's accomplishments and social status, and Kyouya would make a non-committal sound or nod to get this torture over with. Unlike his father, Kyouya was not a social butterfly. He did not intend ever to speak to any of these women. So, while his father rambled, Kyouya pretended to give a damn, when in reality, he didn't.

"Now, this young lady is not an heir, but has millions that she could invest in new projects and charity." His father pointed at an Indian woman on the screen, then clicked his remote, and a very interesting picture appeared, which he clicked past before Kyouya could get a better look.

"Father, go back one." He said as Mr. Ootori began a speech about some French aristocrat.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it isn't a very flattering photo."

_Something's up,_ Kyouya thought,_ He wouldn't care if he were just getting me acquainted with all of these women for the next dinner party I have to go to where they just _might_ be there. _"Just go back."

Grumbling, his father finally complied with his request and went back a picture. Kyouya leaned forward to study it.

The young woman had blond hair, cut in the style of a young boy's. She was petite and slouching, making her look even tinier. Her clothes were casual: a gray tank top and blue jeans, making her stand out against all of the other ladies' satin, silk, and cashmere. Under the girl's rectangular black framed glasses, her violet eyes burned with anger, adding the only emotion to her otherwise expressionless face.

"Who is she?"

"An American."

"Father…." Kyouya warned, before he set off on his infamous "American Capitalism Rant." Yes, it had a title. That was how often Kyouya heard it.

While Mr. Ootori took "deep cleansing breaths," his son turned his attention, for the first time in the last hour, to the projection screen and the digital photograph displayed on it. He knew why he was so captivated by it; she looked like Haruhi.

For ages, the young, hard-headed commoner had been the object of his desires and the keeper of his heart. Unfortunately, this little faerie tale world came crashing down around him when he became the heir to his father's business and she Hikaru and Kaoru's love interest. At this thought, his heart felt as if it was being wrenched from his chest, and his blood ran cold. Before these emotions could show on his face, Kyouya locked them back into the corner of his mind, where he left all of the things that he felt were a weakness.

"Father….?" He reminded.

"Yes, yes. Her father recently invented a shot to prevent breast and lung cancer. Of course, hospitals around the world ordered hundreds to thousands of these vaccinations, making him a billionaire over night, and her the heir to those billions; possibly trillions." His father explained, then added under his breath, "I hate American capitalism."

Kyouya finally understood his father's anger, and smirked, "You don't like him because he's not of the aristocracy. Father, you know that the Americans don't have royalty, or nobles."

The Chairman glowered at his son, "You are correct. They rose from absolutely nothing, and there is not a drop of royal or noble blood in them. This, of course, makes her an unsuitable wife for the son of a line of dukes."

_Ah-ha! He reveals his plans to me at last. Took him long enough, _Kyouya thought, "Father, you plan to marry me off?"

"Hmmm?" Mr. Ootori was still lost in his (possibly rude) thoughts.

"You plan to marry me off to one of these women," Kyouya waved his hand towards the screen behind him before leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.

"Well, yes…." The older Ootori, who was always so sure of himself, suddenly could find nothing to say. He had hoped to reveal his plan, along with who he thought the best choice was at the end of the slideshow.

"May I ask why?"

"Yes."

"Why, then?" Kyouya loved toying with his father. Especially when his father believed he had the upper hand and was controlling his son, but in reality it was the other way around.

"You need to be married to take over the company, which is why I got it so young. I was married, and Father's wife died, so he stepped down and let me have the company, although you don't have to be married to continue running, just to inherit. Besides, after the incident with that commoner-"

"She has a name, it's Haruhi." Kyouya defended before he could stop himself.

"Yes, her," Kyouya cursed himself silently. "It seems that I need to direct your thoughts in other directions. Like duty to your family and your business, for example."

Kyouya nodded, "Yes, Father."

"Since you seem to still have feelings for _that girl,_" Kyouya flinched, "then we will continue this session another time."

"That will not be necessary."

His father raised his eyebrows.

"Give me the files. I'll choose now."

"Good. That way we can alert the girl's family sooner. The wedding date is set for Saturday, May 12."

Kyouya's father left him sitting with files 20 pages thick before him. As Kyouya stared at them, he thought of Haruhi, and how she once looked at them with those giant, chocolate brown eyes of hers. Pain swelled in his heart as he remembered the hurt in hers.

His family had refused her, and she had then refused him, and no amount of pleading or promises could convince her to change her mind and take him back.

These thoughts distracted Kyouya, until a picture in one of the files caught his eye: The golden haired American.

This beautiful woman, whose eyes burned with such passion that one could feel it by just looking, reminded him painfully of his Haruhi. It was in that moment that his decision was made. If he couldn't love the woman he was to marry, then he could at least like to look at her, and possibly imagine that it was another.

He emerged with her two page file and photo and presented it to his shocked and angry father.

* * *

**A/N**: Review please? It really will make me write more and any tips on improving my writing will be appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read my story. 


	2. Her Gilded Cage

_Nightingale in a golden cage  
__That's me locked inside reality's maze  
__Come someone, make my heavy heart light  
__Come on, come bring me back to life  
__A nightingale in a golden cage  
__That's me locked inside reality's maze  
__Come someone, make my heavy heart light  
__It all starts with a lullaby  
_**"The Escapist" **(Nightwish)

**A/N: **ARRRRGHHH!!!!! -is buried under piles of Scholarship applications- I would just like to apologise to my faithful readers(if I have any) and say that I really am trying to get scholarship money and it's all I've been doing on top of math homework for the past few months!!!!! I'm SOOOO sorry!!!!! It's killing me and keeping me away from my three truest loves: Art, Writing, and my Kookie (being the most missed as he's playing rugby every Saturday and Friday). -cries- Please, please, please forgive me for not updating!

Now with that out of the way I'd just like to state that I will be on Spring Break soon, which may mean a couple more chapters and NO SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS!!!! -does dance-

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing at all. Do you know what that means? No? Well, it means that this is a work of fiction. I own no characters from Ouran HSHC and I never will. I am simply using them to portray a 'what-if' that is playing out in my own head.

ON WITH THE SHOW!!!

* * *

Raine paced slowly outside her father's heavy oak office doors. What was taking so long? He should have been done with this conversation 20 minutes ago. He must be making a business deal with the Ootoris, and her father wanted her to help finalize it as training for the future. 

That had to have been it. Otherwise…. No, she wouldn't let herself think that. She had taken all measures possible to prevent what she did not want from happening.

Her musings were ceased by the click of a phone and the voice of her father calling out, "Raine, you may now come in."

Walking across the plush beige carpet to the doors on the other side of the hall, Raine took a deep breath and prepared herself to take the next step up to becoming the CEO of her father's young corporation. Her sweat-slicked palms slid on the doorknob as she turned it and the room felt uncomfortably warm as she stepped in.

"Yes, Daddy?"

"I have good news, Raine!" He looked happy, but guilty at the same time, and Raine sensed that he had done something that would not make her happy. What sort of business deal had this man gone into? _Hopefully nothing illegal, _Raine prayed, "What would this news be?" She put on a smile to show that she guessed nothing and played along.

"You're to be married!"

She nearly toppled out of her chair. "I'm to be _what_?" No. It couldn't be!

Evan Wilson shifted uncomfortably in his leather office chair and looked out the large window to his left. "You heard me, Raine: Married."

"Daddy, how could you do this?" She cried. No, no! It had to be some sort of joke. Some sort of horribly cruel joke. Everything she had worked toward and manipulated the outcome of was beginning to crash down around her; all with 4 little words that would have made any other woman in the world incredibly happy. But, not her; those words would never make her happy. Men were scum and they deserved no place in her family's business and fortune.

"I didn't have a choice." Evan sighed at his daughter's predictable reaction. She had always had a hard head and he felt it was time to soften it a bit. That meant making her do something she did not want to do. Several somethings, actually, that would all be beneficial, but she wouldn't look at it that way. She would just see it as one big tragedy.

"Oh, bullshit-!"

"You will not swear at me, Raine Skyy Wilson!" He thundered, and she fell silent, "Yes, sir."

"You must understand that I really and truly did not have a choice. They threatened to shut me down. The Ootori family's power reaches around the world and while you are very manipulative-" Raine started, "-Yes, I know what you do. I'm not a fool, young lady." She bowed her head in shame at being caught. "They are also manipulative and cunning. The Ootori family can shut me down within a blink of the eye, and we will be back on the streets, eating out of soup kitchens, and taking odd jobs just to survive. Raine, you have no idea what these men can do."

"Men with power can do nothing," She snarled, "They are pigs and idiots with no idea what happens when they screw with other people's lives. It always comes back to haunt them, always." Raine knew she spoke the truth. Most men with power really _were_ idiots. She had manipulated and twisted enough of them to know. A smile here, unspoken promises there…. Why, they were practically putty in her hands when she turned the charm of her beauty on them.

"Threaten me if you will, but you are going to Japan to marry this young man, and there is no way you are getting out of it. You will gather your most important items, clothes, business and casual and we will leave for Japan tonight. The wedding is in 3 months and you must at least meet your fiancé so that you are not complete and total strangers seeing each other for the first time on the wedding day." Mr Wilson's voice became firm in anger and with one last glare his daughter swept out of the room.

Evan turned to the intercom and pressed the button for the main housekeeper, "Call the airport and tell them to ready our jet, then go to my daughter's rooms and help her pack. We are leaving tonight."

"Yes, sir." An elderly female voice crackled back.

--------------

In her rooms, Raine fumed, and threw a tantrum like no other. Clothes were tossed without care into her suitcases and several bottles of perfume were broken on the bathroom floor.

She would _not_ go through with this. Ever. There was a way. Her fool of a father was wrong. There was _always_ a way. She was going to be so cold and uncaring to the boy that she would make him hate her and call it off. After all, he was the heir to the company, and could keep his father from ruining them.

"Miss," The housekeeper's voice broke through her raging thoughts and brought her back to reality, "You must pack some business clothes. Your father instructed me to tell you so."

Raine glared and dragged her best suit out of the closet along with some slacks and button down shirts. The housekeeper hung them in a garment bag and gently laid it over a chair where she had folded most of the jeans and t-shirts that her mistress had so carelessly thrown in the suitcase. She then grabbed all of Raine's shampoo and conditioners and tossed them in a smaller travel bag along with some soap and a toothbrush.

"Miss?"

"What?!" It was the first word that Raine had spoken -or in this case: snapped- since "The Incident" and her voice had become hoarse and her throat dry.

"Do you want to take this?"

She turned to look. The old woman was holding a photo and at the sight of it, Raine simply lost the will to move, or even be angry any longer. As she gazed at the familiar sight, she sighed and took it, "Yes."

Out of the frame, her mother smiled brightly at her, holding a wig in her hand with the sun shining on the top of her completely bald head. It had been taken 2 months before she had succumbed to the cancer that had hostage of her body and she was still strong and happy. Raine had kept the picture as a reminder to be strong and work for what she was fighting for, even when others said it was hopeless.

It's what her mother had done. The doctors had said there was no hope; no reason to fight, or to try, but her mother had taken treatments and tried so hard to live, despite the fact that she grew weaker everyday. In the end, though, she just hadn't been strong enough, and Raine vowed to be stronger and find a cure for cancer and not just a prevention treatment like her father invented.

How ironic it had been, when they found that her mother had the incurable disease, while her father worked towards preventing it and how sad it had been when they found that the treatment couldn't cure, but only break down the pre-cancerous cells before they attacked the body.

Wiping away the few tears that had fallen, Raine tossed the photo into her carry-on bag along with a few comfort books and her Mp3 player. She gazed at her many bookshelves, and sighed. She would miss them all dearly, along with her hundreds of CDs that ranged from R&B to country and to metal. Unable to part with all of her CDs, she grabbed a few of her collector's and special edition Nightwish albums. Ok, ALL of her Nightwish albums. Her mother had loved the band and so did she. It's not that she wouldn't, but that she _couldn't_ part with them.

On a whim, she lifted up her teddy bear from its place on her dresser and laid it in with her CDs; another gift from her mother. It was then that she came to realize that she was surrounded by items that reminded her of the one person that she had loved most in her life. Then she realized that she would never see these things again.

"Oh, Mrs Smith," She lamented quietly, "Can't I take it all?"

"No, Miss, Mr Ootori specifically said to bring clothes and those things most important to you."

"But they're all important, and I'll never be able to leave them."

"Child, this is the way of the world: You marry, you move in together, you leave things behind, and eventually, you find that those material possessions are nothing compared to love."

Raine smiled sadly, "I do not love him. You know this. He is being forced upon me like a vegetable that's good for a child; the child refuses to eat it, but the parents make them. I refuse to marry, but my father makes me. If this is the way of the world, then the world sucks."

"Yes, well, as true as that may be, you must do this. Now, let's get you and your items to the airport. Your father is waiting."

The two of them grabbed her four bags and made their way down the mansion's stairs to the open doors and the waiting car. As they drove away, Raine turned to gaze upon the only home she had ever known and silently tell it goodbye as she traveled toward the gilded cage that was being built for her by her father and an unknown man and his controlling family.

* * *

**A/N: **Yes, I'm quite aware that I got a little sappy at the end. Please review. I know this chapter's not quite as well written because I'm suffering a case of writer's block. This tends to happen when I have less than 20 things going on at one time. -sigh- Please tell me if something doesn't make sense. I have a feeling I left something out….. 


	3. Her Arrival

_Oh, I sleep just to dream her  
__Beg the night just to see her  
__That my only love should be her  
__Just to lie in her arms  
__I know I'll miss her later  
__I wish I could bend my love to hate her  
__Wish I could be her creator  
__To be the light in her eyes  
_**"Sleep to Dream Her"** (Dave Matthews Band)

**A/N:** Not much to say here, except that I've planned this story out and the next two chapters might be kinda slow. I don't want them immediately hating each other/loving each other, so there's really no "action" for a while. Sorry. I promise that there will be soon though. This chapter is basically rambling at the beginning. But some of it's pertinent information so yeah, you gotta read it. Haha! :)

Disclaimer: Kyouya Ootori is owned by Bisco Hatori. I own Raine Wilson, Evan Wilson and any other characters that come from my imagination. Lyrics at top are copyright of their respective artist(s). 

* * *

Raine breathed in and out slowly. How could one person be so tired? Scratch that question. She already knew the answer. Exhaustion such as this only came from being jerked from your home, thrown on a plane, stuffed into your best business suit and forced to sit through lessons on Japanese and the general etiquette-of-a-lady for six straight hours. 

The absurdity of it all had her wondering if this was her father's idea of a bad joke and if she wasn't really engaged after all. It would make her angry, but it would be such a _relief_. She was still trying to cope with the fact that the bastard she was marrying had chosen her in her 'normal state' over women with jewels and made-up faces. Weren't rich people supposed to want their kids to marry those of excellent lineage and not commoners who just happened to have the smarts to make a buck? 

Sighing heavily, she stirred the strawberry daiquiri that her maid had fixed for her, absentmindedly then sipped. The taste swirled over her tongue and the liquor burned all the way down her throat making a heady sensation that took her away from the troubles of the moment. Ah, the joys of being a legal adult! Of course, she wasn't a drunk. She just enjoyed the occasional distraction that usually only came once a year at the New Year's Eve celebration her father threw, but right now, she just needed it. 

"Raine!" Her father barked. (He'd been a bit irritable since she had snapped that she knew how to be civil and that shoving etiquette down her throat was not going to make her any less prone to biting the poor man's head off when he pissed her off.)

"What do you want?"

"Read this," He thrust a couple of papers at her, "And quit being so hostile!"

"You're one to talk." She muttered when he was out of earshot. 

She opened the folder to find an itinerary. It simply stated that she would arrive at her penthouse and have a couple of hours to relax before her father dragged her off to some lunch meeting with business associates, and…. _Well, crap,_ she thought. She was supposed to be picked up by Kyouya Ootori and taken out to dinner that night. 

Raine had been hoping to have time to devise a plan to get rid of the prat, not have to meet with him and deal without any means of defense against whom the internet stated was the "most charming bachelor in Japan." 

She had laughed until her stomach ached when she read that on the Japanese news website, needless to say. Too bad the mysterious Kyouya Ootori hadn't provided a photo for the journalist to post with his story. She'd really wanted a look at him. After all, she had to know if she was going to have to practice smiling if he turned out to be ugly. Really now, why else would he be going into an arranged marriage? If he were handsome, then he should have been able to find a girl on his own, especially since he was so "charming." 

Raine tossed the folder on the seat next to her and stared out of the private jet's small window, glimpsing small islands and cresting waves on their shores. It was beautiful she supposed, but it wasn't home. It never would be home. 

Evan Wilson came and sat down across from her, "We'll be landing soon." 

"So I noticed." 

"You'll like it, I promise you."

"How would you know what I will like or won't like? Did you suddenly become a mind reader?" Yeah, she was being a bitch, but at the moment, she really didn't care. Her father had hurt her, by doing the one thing he swore never to do: make her marry. 

"Raine…. I really wish you'd be kinder about this. You know I had no choice. It's for the best." He reached for her hand. She slapped it away. 

She supposed it was for the best. After all, the last thing she wanted was for her father's company to be shut down. The cancer cure had been so sought after and her father was the only one who knew the secret behind the genetic manipulation (besides her of course. She had figured it out when one of the scientists had let her look at the charts.) 

The awkwardness of the slap was avoided by the pilot coming over the intercom and saying that they would be landing in 5 minutes and would they please fasten their safety belts? 

Her father moved to his seat and she clicked the buckle on her seat belt waiting for the bump and the dying of the motors to say that they had landed. For some reason, this thought made her nervous. Maybe it was only the fact that this was the first time she had been on foreign soil. Maybe she was nervous that what she would find would disappoint her. However, the most likely reason was that she was extremely nervous of what her groom-to-be would think. 

Surprised that she even cared, Raine ended up moving off the plane in a trancelike state, not even noticing her surroundings, sliding into the car and not coming out of her dream world until her father started pointing out some of Tokyo's landmarks. These comments were met with nods of the head and non-committal noises. Her father tended to ramble. 

They arrived at her penthouse suite with little commotion and moved in with many smiles and bows to the staff. People stared of course. They weren't used to rich Americans in this district. At least, that's how the concierge who'd taken their bags up had excused the guests gaping mouths. Raine doubted this. She thought it was because that morning's newspaper held her picture and they recognized her. 

She could have killed her father for telling the Ootoris to make the announcement. She was going to be mobbed every time she went out by reporters (if the ones who attacked her coming in were any clue as to what was coming.)

She slumped in a chair. This was extremely exhausting. She wanted that time alone, but it looked as if she'd have to fight for it, but she didn't have the energy to. Maybe if she just dozed off for a minute…

* * *

"Raine, honey…." Her father shook her.

"Mm, what?" she mumbled, coming out of a wonderful dream where she lived alone on a private island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. 

"I'm going to my business meeting now, do you want to go?" 

"I have a choice?" According to the itinerary, she hadn't had one, which is why she'd allowed them to force her into her best suit.

"Of course you do. It has been so kindly pointed out to me by Mrs. Smith that you haven't had any time to yourself." He gave an unhappy glance back at their old housekeeper that suggested that the words had been anything _but _kind and this moment of rest had been entirely because the old woman knew how to care for children, whereas her father did not. "You may have a nap, or you can go shopping for your meeting with Mr. Ootori. Mrs. Smith has also informed me that you didn't bring any dresses and you need a cocktail dress to get into the restaurant he's taking you to." 

"I'll go shopping, Daddy, don't worry. Go to your business meeting." She smiled. This was their first conversation in a long time that hadn't ended in an argument. She mentioned it to the housekeeper who was hanging her clothes in a closet and she only responded with a smile. The staff were supposed to keep out of the family's affairs and not comment or gossip on relationships. 

Once the small apartment style suite was in order, they went out and came back with several items, both formal and casual. It was out of these that Raine chose a teal dress and brown sandals that gave the appearance of relaxed formality, which seemed to be the style of Japan's rich and famous at the time. 

For the next hour Raine paced, read books, and listened to music. She avoided eating (a nervous habit, as of late) and stared out the window to the street below. She fretted and worried about the fact that she was going to look like a fool in the dress she wore, and she drove Mrs. Smith up the wall with her constant questions that could never be answered. 

Finally, there was a knock on the door and Raine jumped up to get it, but one of the maids got to it first. She smoothed the handkerchief-hemmed skirt of her dress out as the door opened to reveal a handsome young man with short dark hair and glasses. He looked to be around 6 feet tall, if not more and wore a dark pair of slacks, a button up white shirt, with the top two buttons undone and a matching dark suit-like jacket. When he spoke and greeted them all, his voice was deep and soft. This was not what she had been expecting. 

Her heart fluttered, as women's hearts are prone to do when faced with a handsome man, and she was pretty sure she was blushing. 

Oh, no. This is not what she had been expecting at all.

* * *

**A/N:** Mwhahahah!! ……OK, I'm done. I just felt that after that ending, it needed some evil laughter….. O.o. I apologise once again for the wordiness and rambling, but it's how I write. Forgive me (AND TELL ME) if I've left anything out or you do not understand something. I will try to clear it up in future chapters.


	4. First Date

We're so helpless

We're so helpless  
We're slaves to our impulses  
We're afraid of our emotions  
And no one knows where the shore is  
We're divided by the ocean  
And the only thing I know is  
That the answer isn't for us  
No the answer isn't for us  
**"So Sorry"** (Feist)

**A/N:** Haha. So I'm reading the 7 Volume of Ouran HSHC and Kyouya says: "I'll have you know I was up until 5 this morning." And I kind of wondered what he did all night!! I mean, really… You'd think Kyouya's the sensible one and he doesn't stay up late…. But still… What does he do?? Pull a Tom-Cruise-in-Risky-Business and dance in his underwear? Hmmmm… Well, as I contemplate this, why don't you read Chapter Four and Review it please?

Also, I apologize for the general suckiness of this chapter in advance.

* * *

She stared at him in shock. It was as if she'd never seen another human being in her life and was amazed that there were others like her.

Somehow, through all this amazement, she still managed to look elegant and poised in her teal cocktail dress and heels. As he studied her face, Kyouya noted that she wore neither make-up, nor the dark framed glasses from the photo, which said to him that she was confident, but not overly so. Seeing her without her glasses made him adjust his own light frames needlessly; A nervous habit of his.

"H-Hello," she said (almost whispered) as she approached him shyly. She had a lovely voice, deeper than most Japanese women's but still holding a hint of sweetness. It was the perfect pitch he always imagined for a female radio DJ. Her voice also held a hint of what the Americans considered to be a "southern accent;" Slight twang, but again, as the rest of her, not overpowering.

She stood demurely beside him, quietly waiting his next instruction. Over all Kyouya was surprised. Judging by the expression in the only photograph he'd seen of her, he'd expected to have to drag her out, kicking and screaming, yet she was polite and calm.

Oh, he never doubted that her calm demeanor held a fiery temper. All women had one, including his sister Fuyumi, who had been known to toss valuable, breakable items at Kyouya during particularly heated arguments (much to his father's appalled amusement.)

Even Haruhi had an especially foul temper when Kyouya accidentally mentioned feeling sorry that she hadn't experienced a specific something because she was a "commoner." She also had been prone to throwing things at him to get him out of her house, but the items she tossed had been much less valuable and not so breakable.

"What?" said a voice slightly to his left, and he turned his head, the slight smirk fading as he saw who it was.

"I'm sorry?" He asked, as if he didn't hear, even though they both knew that he had.

"I said 'What?'" Raine made her voice flat and let the anger slip through.

"Raine Wilson!" An old woman hurried up to his bride-to-be and glared at her. For a moment the younger woman looked frightened, but then rolled her eyes. "Don't you roll those eyes at me, young lady!"

"Mrs. Smith, I'm 26 years old. I'm a bit too old to be scolded like a child, aren't I?" Amusement laced Raine's voice and Kyouya took a step back. He wanted to get the full effect. This was going to be interesting. Not to mention it was going to be a good time to improve his conversational English. He was a bit rusty after being out of school for 2 years.

"Now listen here, Ms Wilson: You've been in my care for 14 years, and you should know very well by now that I will never think you are too old for a scolding!" By this time the older woman was wagging a finger in Raine's face and the blonde looked slightly embarrassed. "Now, who is this handsome young man?" She now turned in Kyouya's direction and smiled, making all signs of anger fade away.

Kyouya held out his hand and she took it in both of hers when he introduced himself, "Kyouya Ootori, ma'am."

Her eyes crinkled as her smile widened, "I am Gloria Smith. I'm this smart mouthed young woman's caretaker."

"I'm not smart mouthed." Raine muttered.

He chuckled. So there _was_ a fire there. It just had to be provoked. He hoped that Raine wouldn't hide it from him. Otherwise, this wouldn't be any fun at all. "I'll have her home by 1 o'clock AM, ma'am."

"See that you do and you'd best treat her right, boy. You're marrying her and that not only means she's a part of your family but that you're a part of ours so I can scold you too, young man."

Kyouya was amused and surprised at this. American morals and ideals were so different. In Japan, the woman became a part of the husband's family, unless the woman was the heiress to the family business and then the husband became part of the woman's family. Typically, though, unless the she died, the wife was the head of the family no matter who inherited what or became part of whose family.

Kyouya offered his arm to Raine, and she slipped her hand in the crook of his elbow. Yet another surprise. Most women he dated after Haruhi had become offended when he had even held the door, saying that it was sexist and rude. That they were perfectly capable of holding and opening their own doors and how the _hell_ did he think they got them open when he wasn't around? He mentioned this to Raine as he walked with her down the stairs and she laughed.

"I personally don't care. As long as you understand that I am capable of opening my own doors and getting on my own coat then doing it for me is perfectly acceptable. Now, how are you today, Kyouya-san?"

"I am well and please, it's just Kyouya. We are going to be married after all." He smiled. It was nearly killing him, this polite conversation. It wasn't his idea of a date at all. It was his father's. Personally, Kyouya would have just married the girl without seeing her before the wedding at all. After all, this was not something he wanted and he found that, as with all things not wanted but unavoidable, it was best to deal with them in a timely manner and forget about them. "How was your day, Raine?"

"Hell." She said with a small, cold laugh. His eyebrows knitted together at her choice of words (Okay, _word._) and she gave warmer laugh, "Hey, you asked, and I'm not about to start this off by lying to you."

Even though the laugh this time had been genuine, he noticed that her smile had yet to reach her eyes.

_So, you don't care for this either, Miss Raine? _He thought. _We might just get along better than I thought. _

As they approached his car, the silence descended into an awkward one and Raine shifted uncomfortably, tightening her grip around his arm. Kyouya sensed this and laid his free hand over hers and murmured, "Hey, relax." He was sure she thought he was being kind by telling her to relax but in reality the woman had more strength than it seemed and her grip was hurting him!

He opened the passenger side door of his Porsche and helped her into the low sports car. She smirked slightly at the sight of the car and muttered something that sounded very much like, "Men and their cars." He pretended not to notice this remark as he shut her door and looked across the street. As usual, Tachibana stood in the shadows, ever watchful. Kyouya nodded and slid into the driver's seat, then started the car. Somehow he always felt better knowing that the man that watched over him since the day he'd been born stood watch over him still, even if he was 28 years old.

"Where are we going, Kyouya?"

"Hmm? Oh, a French restaurant. It just opened. My father is mad with jealousy that I get to try it first."

"Does your father particularly like French cuisine?"

"No. He likes anything western. He's not too fond of Asian culture. Says it's not refined enough."

"Ah."

The rest of the trip was made in silence. Kyouya didn't care, but he could tell that his date was uncomfortable with it. She constantly looked at him and shifted or opened her mouth as if she were about to speak. Something none of his other dates had a problem with. Most of them understood immediately that he was no good at conversation and it was not because he'd never had practice talking lightly but because he didn't care to. It was a waste of his time and got him nowhere.

All at once he realized that this was the first thing he didn't have an interest in even though he gained something from it. Mostly he didn't care because it was ridiculous. He didn't understand why the family had such a tradition. Being married to inherit the business. Ha!

Another reason was because this woman wasn't his Haruhi. Never would be, in fact. She was far too detached from the world. He couldn't fault her for such a thing, as he himself was detached from most of the people he met. But he felt that he could fault the young American for being part of his father's plan, even if she was as unhappy as he was. She at least had had a choice.

The restaurant came into sight, and Kyouya slowed. They had valet parking. Good. He did not feel like parking and then walking a city block and a half. That would be far too difficult. Once inside, he gave his name and they immediately took them to a table. Being rich and famous had its perks.

At the table, they ordered their drinks and then were left to look at the menu.

"My God… I have no idea what I'm reading." Raine breathed.

Kyouya looked up and then silently cursed himself. He'd forgotten she hadn't grown up with the same lessons he had. She only knew one language fluently and was slowly learning Japanese. She had only been one of the better off members of society for maybe 14 or 15 years if he remembered correctly. She hadn't bothered to learn how to discern fine works from knock offs nor had she learned all the languages that were pertinent for businessmen to know.

"Here, let me help you." He laid his menu on the table and asked, "What would you like?"

"Nothing strange. I seem to recall that the last time I went to France, I was served cow brains and rabbit liver." She made a slightly disgusted face and then resumed looking disinterested in her surroundings.

"Ah, I see. Then…" The waiter had returned and stood waiting for the order, "She wants this, and this and I'll have the same."

Raine raised an eyebrow at Kyouya. He shrugged.

"You're not ordering something worse than cow brains and passing it off as chicken are you?"

He looked innocent, "Why would I do that?"

This time she shrugged. "I've had a few asshole boyfriends who would do something like that and laugh about it with their friends later."

"I promise I wouldn't do that. That's more up the twins' alley than mine."

"The twins?"

"My friends."

"Oh. What are they like? Your friends, I mean."

He looked up at her, finally looking into her eyes, "They're crazy, I guess you would say. Complete nutcases. The twins, Kaoru and Hikaru, think everyone is their toy and put on this planet for their amusement. Tamaki is obsessed with all things common. Hani is about 4'11'' and eats about 8 cakes a day, while his protector, Mori, watches and never says a word. Ever. Haruhi is the only normal one of us. She handles the lot of them pretty well. I always just put up with their antics; she questions them and tells them they're being stupid. Brave little thing, Haruhi is."

_I wonder if any of them know that I'm engaged… Tamaki's in France with his mother and the rest are in Sweden at Hani's home…_ He then wondered what Haruhi had to put up with. The Host Club hadn't grown up at all over the years and still acted very much like they were teenagers. He smiled at the thought of Haruhi and looked at the woman sitting across the table from him.

She looked so much like her. Tiny, short hair and a round, pretty face. It almost hurt to be sitting here looking at her and seeing his ex-fiancée.

"What are your friends like?"

"Normal, I guess. My two best girlfriends are absolute basket cases. They think a good time is going out and making complete fools of themselves and my guy friends are all about video games and practical jokes. I never have a moment of peace. Well, I didn't until they went to college and I learned how to run my father's company."

"You didn't go to college?"

"I did, but I had already graduated. I skipped 3 years of high school and got my MA in Studio Art and a minor in Music in 3 years at an all girls' private college."

Kyouya nearly choked on his water. Even he hadn't graduated that quickly. He had a Doctorate in Medicine and that had taken him 5 years instead of the usual 8 excluding the 4 years of pre-med.

He thought he saw a smile in her eyes when he had started coughing and his eyes narrowed. She had wanted to shock him and it had worked. No one had been able to surprise him like she had. Not even Tamaki and his crazy ideas when they had first met. But what shocked him most that it was deliberate and she was pleased with herself for doing it.

_Note to self: Future wife is expert in subtle manipulation. _He thought.

Any further conversation was cut off by the arrival of their dinner and they ate in silence and rode home in the same. Neither seemed to have more to say and Raine no longer seemed to be bothered by the silence.

He walked her to the door of the penthouse suite and waited until she was inside. Neither had said goodbye.

Once inside, Raine seethed. He had been so polite and she had gone along with it! How could she have done that? She needed to hate him, so that they could call this idiotic engagement off and she could go home and live comfortably and _alone. _

She told herself that starting the next date, she was going to do everything she could to get him to hate her. This wedding was _not _going to happen. At least, it wasn't if she had any say in it.

* * *

**A/N:** Long chapter….. I'm pretty sure I just gave myself carpel tunnel typing this. Yeah, I know, Kyouya's out of character but I think he's learned to loosen up a bit since he's 28 and has probably dealt with everything the Host Club can dish out. OH!!

**POLL:** I'm wondering if I should make Kyouya and Haruhi's past together a story separate from this one or if I should just incorporate it into this story. If I do make it a separate story should it be a one-shot? Or a chapter-by-chapter thing? Either leave your opinion in a review or email to me.

Thanks!


	5. News

_I once knew a girl in the years of my youth  
__With eyes like the summer, all beauty and truth  
__But in the morning I fled; left a note and it read:  
_"_Someday you will be loved."  
__You'll be loved, you'll be loved  
__Like you never have known and the memories of me  
Will seem more like bad dreams;  
__Just a series of blurs, like I never occurred.  
__Someday you will be loved.  
_"**Someday You Will Be Loved" **(Death Cab for Cutie)

**A/N:** Ah, so I've decided in the course of planning this out that the rating will have to go up. Not something I want to do but it can't be helped. It's just some of the language and a couple of drug references and sexual innuendos might offend someone and I really don't want to be reported or bitched at. If you don't like that kind of thing, I apologize in advance, but I hope you continue to read.

Other news: Most pairings have been decided and the poll results state that I'm going to tie in Kyouya and Haruhi's relationship in with this story! ….I think that's it….

Note: Singular quote marks ('...') are the spoken parts of the "flashback"

* * *

**France: 8AM, Suou Mansion**

Tamaki sat down his morning paper from Japan and looked at his wife across the table. She looked back and raised an eyebrow, "Spit it out, Tamaki."

He rubbed his eyes in a tired manner, deliberately prolonging the announcement, knowing that it would annoy her. When she finally sighed heavily and reached for the butter knife, he answered, "Kyouya Ootori is getting married."

"Well now, that's a surprise." Ayame pushed her glasses up higher on her nose and looked amused, "I thought his father hated Fujioka-san. I wonder what he did to get Ootori-sama to let them marry."

"He isn't engaged to Haruhi." Tamaki whispered and looked sad.

"What? Then who?" Ayame looked up from buttering her toast.

"An American heiress."

"I doubt it. Tamaki, my love, as much as Ootori-sama wants his third son to inherit, he'd never let him marry an American. He hates them too much. Quit toying with me and finish your breakfast." She resumed buttering her toast, as if that solved the matter. Tamaki, however, didn't agree.

"It's been arranged. The paper says that in order to inherit the Ootori fortune, he must marry. Remember when Takahashi-san sent in his sister's picture to Kyouya's father? That's what it was for: So that Kyouya could choose a bride. Kyouya must have chosen the only American who responded to the 'summons.'" Tamaki smiled. "He has more of the Hitachiin twins in him than he'd like to think. He never does anything unless it amuses or benefits him, and lately it's been the first one he's been more concerned with."

Ayame smiled at her husband. He had been a thorn in her side for years, until Haninozuka-san had asked her what she really felt for him. For a while she'd been angry with him for asking such a ridiculous question, until she had realized that it wasn't crazy at all. She loved him. In fact, she'd loved him since she'd first seen him. He'd just made her so _angry _that he flirted with other girls and _made money doing it!!_

"I wonder if I could call him and talk to him without getting my head bitten off. He'll want a friend but will never admit it, especially if he's being forced when he just came out of a serious relationship with Haruhi."

"My dear, that was 3 or 4 years ago," She said with mild admonishment.

"Yes, but you and I both know he still feels the pain." They gave each other a look that said she knew perfectly well but just did not like to see it. "You know what? I think I will call him."

"Ah, Tamaki-kun, you are a good friend." Ayame rose to walk around the long table to wrap her arms around him. "He would be glad to hear from you."

"Do you really think so?" Ayame was rarely ever this caring and gentle, so Tamaki intended to get every compliment he could out of her while her mood lasted.

"Of course, you idiot. Now, pick up the phone and call. I'm going to see our daughter."

_Oh, well, _Tamaki thought, _So much for that._

* * *

**Sweden, Haninozuka mansion, 12 noon**

"Haru-chan!" Hani cried as he looked over his own Japanese morning paper.

Haruhi looked up from her omlette questioningly. Why was he interrupting her breakfast? She'd been up four hours before the rest of them and was starving. They knew the deal: The Five of them slept late and Haruhi was not disturbed during her breakfast. "What?"

Hani huffed. He'd grown up over the last 12 years since the Host Club and no longer cried at every little thing that went wrong or at every rude comment. In fact, the darker side of him seemed to come out more often than not. Haruhi and Mori blamed his wife and her curses.

"Kyou-kun is getting married!" He looked shocked, and strangely unhappy and happy all at the same time.

"What??" Everyone except Mori shouted. Mori had already read the paper, and once he determined the pros and cons of telling everyone himself, he let Hani share the news.

"Kyouya? Married?" Hikaru scoffed. "Never. He has been too much of a cold bastard since Haruhi left him."

"Hikaru!" Haruhi hissed. As much as she loved Hikaru, she didn't like the rude comments he made about Kyouya, no matter how badly he'd broken her heart. Kaoru sometimes made snide remarks, too, but never within what he believed to be her earshot so she could never _quite_ make them out and call him out on them.

"Takashi, did you know?" Hani looked up at Takashi who nodded.

Everyone sighed, knowing what was going through his head: Let Hani do the talking. His cuteness will keep Haruhi from killing the messenger.

Sadly, he was correct in his assumption.

"It's too soon for him," Mori whispered. The group sitting around the table nodded in collective agreement except Haruhi, who sat and stared into her tea.

"It's been arranged." Reiko said calmly. They all turned, and began to ask how she knew such things, and she continued, "It says so in the paper. She was chosen from a list of women that his father deemed worthy to marry him and came over by plane about 2 days ago. His father is claiming it's a 'love-match'"

With those words, she sipped her tea and went back to reading the spell book that rested next to her porridge bowl.

"Hani," Kaoru whispered, "You sure picked a strange one."

"Kaoru, Haruhi has disappeared," Hikaru said lightly to his brother. His apparent lack of concern told his brother that this was not something that Hikaru knew how to handle.

"I'll go find her." Kaoru slid his chair back and rose from it. He traveled down the long corridors of Hani's home and went to the place where he had always found her after their fights in any of their homes: The window with the best view of the garden. It was like her sanctuary. Even then, when she and Kyouya had been engaged, it was the place where she went to relax and think.

He'd followed her so many times that the shock of finding her here should have worn off, but still, there she stood after every quarrel or bit of bad news.

"My mother loved flowers," She whispered as Kaoru approached.

"Did she?" He rested his hand on the small of Haruhi's back. It was so routine, this following and listening. He followed and she spoke of her mother. The facts about her mother were different every time, but the location and order of events remained the same. Eventually, the facts about her mother slipped into why she was angry or upset.

Needless to say, Kaoru had learned a lot about Kotoko Fujioka since here daughter had been engaged to Kyouya. He had also learned a lot about Haruhi.

Thoughtful and just a bit naïve was their Haruhi. She was never angry with them without what she believed good cause. She was so accepting of everyone, even Kyouya's father when he had refused his permission for their marriage almost 4 years ago. That was the first time he had followed, as Kyouya had followed Yoshio Ootori and shouted that they couldn't stop him. The words she had spoken to him that day still stuck with him and he was sure that they always would:

'Okaa-san once told me that all things happen for a reason.' There had been tears in her voice and her eyes. 'If there is a reason for such a cruel thing then I don't know of it.'

'I don't know of one either.' He had responded. It had been their shortest conversation, but their most important. When she realized that it was Kaoru behind her and not Kyouya, Haruhi had buried her face into his sweater and cried.

'Oh, Kaoru, what am I to do? He just _sat _there, and stared like an idiot. He didn't even try to defend me. He claims to love me, but…' It was there that the strong-willed Haruhi Fujioka had broken down into wracking sobs.

'He does love you. He went after his father-'

'But not when I was in the room.' Her voice iced over, and still tearful Haruhi turned to look at Kaoru, 'If he cannot defend me now, what is he to do when he finally does get the courage to stand up to his father, who will then threaten to disown me? Do you really think I mean more to him than that stupid corporation he is to inherit? He will leave me, Kaoru, and there will be nothing I can do to stop it, because if I do I will never find work as a lawyer in Japan again. He will choose his inheritance over me; he is Kyouya and cannot love me more than it.'

Kaoru could not believe the words coming from her mouth. She truly believed that Kyouya did not love her enough to give up everything to be with her, even though he had admitted as much to them before.

'I can't let that happen, Kaoru. I need to be the one to break this off. Otherwise, his life is in jeopardy and mine with it.'

Kaoru's heart had broken for the youngest Ootori when she spoke those words, but part of him had rejoiced. He could love her. He could love her and give her so much more than she ever dreamed of. Now that he had given her the love that she needed, she broke his heart once more. This time, his heart did not break for Kyouya, but for her.

Haruhi stared out of the window and said, "Yes. We had a small window box that she grew wildflowers in every year. She said that life wasn't complete without beauty. Kyouya brought flowers to lay in offering every year after he learned that. He even swore to her in a prayer that no one loved me more than he did. But, he didn't. Now he is getting married. I told you that he did not love me."

"Stop lying to yourself, Haruhi." He said gently.

She turned to him and gazed thoughtfully before turning back to look at the gardens, "I would argue with you, but you know me better than anyone and whether I believe my own lies or not, you can tell when my truth is not always whole."

Kaoru smiled, and she smiled in return; a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. His world had been so small before her, as had Hikaru's. Hikaru's world was still small, but Kaoru's had widened enough to let him sense her emotions.

Haruhi spoke again, "It's so soon. I moved on quickly but last week Kyouya was still sending me emails and telling me he loved me. How could he get married so soon?"

"You heard Reiko-san: It's been arranged. You and I both know that what the papers say about it being a "love-match" is crap."

"Hmph."

_Well, _thought Kaoru, _at least her mood is improving slightly. _"Listen, Haruhi, the least you could do is give him a call and tell him you're happy. If he wants the world to believe it's a love-match, then you of all people should let him know that you fell for it. It will please him, to know that someone he believes to be just as brilliant as he is, if not more, fell for it, so that he can tell himself that the rest of the world will believe it, too."

"Kyouya is too smart for that."

"Not where you're concerned, he's not." Kaoru said cheerfully, "Now get your arse down the hall and make that phone call, my love!"

Haruhi sighed, realizing that, as usual, Kaoru had performed the difficult task of turning her bad mood into a slightly irritated, but better, one. One day, she would find out how he managed to do it, so that she could make herself immune.

* * *

**A/N:** My Goddess, the chapters get worse as I go! Argh! Constructive criticism is _**appreciated to the extreme! **_(As are rave reviews!! hint hint. wink wink.)


	6. Dances and Twins

Broken promises  
My heart you stole  
Lies you told  
Got the best of me  
Digging in my heart of gold  
Used to look at you  
And see the possibilities  
I see you for who you are  
Boy you've disappointed me  
_Go Ahead __**(Alicia Keys)**_

**A/N:** -Ducks flying keyboards and mice- I know, I know…. I have not updated in forever. Please forgive me! It has been stressful past three months. Lots of college related things and vacations that cause fights with best friends. Therefore, I hope this chapter will make up for my lack of updates.

* * *

Raine spooned cereal into her mouth, with her elbow on the kitchen table, trying to decide the best way to describe her date with the pretentious Kyouya Ootori. He had not been mean, nor had he been stiff and uninteresting. In fact, the one time she had gotten him to speak he had been extremely interesting. Then, he fell silent for the rest of the evening, and had refused even to glance at her.

_That_ was the worst part of the night. She had decided, upon seeing him that she was going to make the best of this relationship that neither of them wanted. Yet, he refused to speak. Were his friends really that much of a touchy subject? Maybe he had not had many, and the ones he did have abandoned him? Raine shook her head clear, and forced herself away from such thoughts.

Why did she care? He deserved it, if that really was the case. He was cold, and she could see that every word _she_ said _he_ processed in that quick thinking brain of his just to make sure she was neither insulting nor using him. The words then were tucked away into the back of his mind, carefully filed, to be used later, either for or against the person who had said them.

That frightened her immensely. She knew why he did it, and knew how he did it, and that it could be her downfall or her greatest help. She knew it would most likely never be the second, and was usually likely to be the first.

How did she know?

She knew because it was something she herself did.

In fact, she had used it against him the night before, and it had caused him to tense, and then not to speak to her again. She smiled. It was the same smile she had given Kyouya when she had thrown him off his guard. It was the smile she used when she got her way, or her plans were right on track. She knew he knew this. She wanted him to know this.

Mrs. Smith cleared her throat loudly.

Raine jolted, "Oh! Sorry."

The older woman frowned at her charge and held her hand out for the empty cereal bowl.

"I've got it," Raine said, and then picked it up, pouring the milk flecked with Peanut Butter Crunch bits down the kitchen sink's drain.

"The date, Miss Wilson, how was it?"

Raine sighed. She never could get out of anything when this woman was around.

"It sucked, okay?"

The housekeeper raised her eyebrows, "How so?"

"He took me to some swanky French restaurant and didn't speak to me the whole night!"

"Uh-huh..."

"Okay, maybe not the whole night, but it was pretty damn close. I got him to talk about his friends from high school, but when he asked about my high school experience, (which was pretty much non-existent) he got all touchy and didn't even look at me. It was awful."

Mrs. Smith still sat at the table staring at her, and Raine was getting uncomfortable. Even if she had not thought the night before that the date was awful, she did now. It was as if her caretaker knew she was lying; lying through her teeth.

"Okay, so maybe it wasn't that awful and I kind of liked the fact that we didn't speak to each other after the food came, but really, did he have to take me to a restaurant where I couldn't read the menu and make me feel like an idiot? I had to ask him to order for me. Um, rude much?"

"Are you done?"

"Yes…" Raine sulked.

"Miss Wilson, you really need to get to know this young man better. Like it or not, the both of you are going to be married and you must learn communication. If you cannot even find a trivial matter to discuss during your first date, then what are you two going to do when you must share a house for the rest of your lives? Stare at the wall?"

"It would be better than speaking to him," She muttered under her breath. Raine knew that when they wed, he would go to his job and stay there ten hours a day, leaving her home to be a housewife. It was something she had resigned herself to and no longer cared to think about it. She knew that in Japan, the husband was the moneymaker, and rarely ever, did the wife of an important man leave the house, or run it, except for parties and social dinners. Then, she was queen.

Raine snorted. _Dinner parties? Give me a break. _

"Speaking of parties…"Mrs. Smith spoke up.

"Hunh?" Raine started. Had she said that aloud? Mrs. Smith was waiting patiently, watching her with interest. Okay, so obviously, she had. Crap.

"Better?" Raine nodded. "Good. Now, you have an invite to a ball held by the Ootori's in-laws-"

"You can tell them that I respectfully decline their invitation." Raine pushed herself up from the kitchen table and walked out of the room.

"Miss Wilson, you cannot decline this invitation." Mrs. Smith sounded panicky, yet firm in her resolve. She ran into the living area as fast as her heels would let her.

"And why not?"

"Because, the dance is being held for you. It says very plainly that this is a formal ball in honor of Shido Fuyumi's younger brother's engagement."

"Shit." Raine swore.

"Language, Miss Wilson. Also, there's a note inserted in the envelope from Mr. Ootori."

"Kyouya or Kyouya's father?" By this time, Raine had decided to hang upside down from the back of the sofa and do crunches. Her housekeeper rolled her eyes.

"Kyouya, and Raine? If you do not sit up properly and speak to me then I will tie you to the armchair and give you another etiquette lesson."

Raine halted mid-crunch, and glared at the elderly woman. What was she rambling on about; something about that ridiculous dance that she was _not_ going to? Yeah, that was it. Raine continued her workout, pretending to listen intently. Something about reading that note from Kyouya, oh and she needed a dress, too. Too bad she _**was not**__ going_. It would be a complete waste of money to go buy a dress when she was never going to wear it.

Besides, what was wrong with the little teal thing she had bought yesterday? That was a dress. That was a _pretty _dress.

"MISS WILSON."

She jolted and fell off the sofa, whacking her head on the floor.

"Are you listening to me?"

"No?"

"Fine. Read it yourself. I am not helping you with this party."

"That's ok. I didn't need your help anyway. I'm not going."

"Yes, you are."

"Whatever you say, Mrs. Smith." Raine's mind was quickly working to devise a plan to get out of this party. She could fake sick, but that would only cause the Shidos to reschedule the party. She could always pretend to go, and then go out to a club… She had not been clubbing in so long, not since she became the heir to her father's 900 million dollar corporation. Her time being taken up by school and lessons in how to run such a large company had prevented such things. Now that she had a doctorate in bioengineering, (something she had failed to mention to Kyouya) she could do what she pleased.

She sat up, and saw that the heavy crème envelope that the invitation had come in was lying on the floor next to her. Sighing, Raine supposed that she should at least read the not that her fiancé had so _kindly_ written to her. The paper envelope was cloth-like to the touch and felt expensive. It probably was she reminded herself. The invitation? Well, that was hand written in the best calligraphy, in English, on linen paper.

She rolled her eyes, _Rich bastards._

She tugged out the other piece of paper in the envelope. This was written on plain white computer paper (though she had no doubt that it was expensive-as-hell computer paper that lesser mortals could not afford.) and the handwriting looked like chicken scratch, to put it kindly. It was almost funny that the seemingly perfect Kyouya Ootori had messy handwriting.

The writing itself was beautiful, however. It had no grammar mistakes, not even a contraction or a misplaced comma. It made her instantly dislike him again and want to slap him. She snorted after giving the letter a once-over. It told her to go see a couple of guys named Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin who would make her a dress for his sister's dance.

She was tempted. A dress that was designed just for her, with no other like it in the world made her tremble. She had never been a girly-girl, but she did have two X-chromosomes, and that meant that she was tempted by such things as chocolate and designer clothing, and this dress would be free. Kyouya Ootori had said to pick out any fabric she wished, no matter how expensive and to let the Hitachiins design a dress for her, and he would pay for everything.

She could have anything she wanted, free. Memorizing the address on the paper, Raine smiled, and called to the housekeeper. It was time to pay a visit to Kyouya's high school friends.

* * *

Raine stood in front of a huge mansion. It was ridiculous. Did all of Japan's nobility/rich live like this? Never mind. That was a stupid question. Of course they did. They would die of shame otherwise.

She supposed that the size of the house was the reason that no one had come to the door in the five minutes since she had rang the doorbell. It had been loud and sounded like church bells but that did not necessarily mean anyone in this monstrosity would hear it. She scowled and moved to press the button again, when the door flew open and two identical red-haired men stood, breathless, in the doorway. They had identical expressions of shock on their faces. The only difference between the two was the clothing. The one on the left wore and orange t-shirt and designer jeans with a wallet chain. The one on the right wore a blue button up short-sleeved shirt and khaki slacks.

The one on the left spoke up first, "Hikaru, she looks like-"

"Oh, dear, brother, I believe you are correct, she does. Maybe we should call her to meet-"

"No, it would-"

"Yes, you're right. Anyway, welcome to the Hitachiin mansion, Raine Wilson. Maybe Kyouya will actually decide to keep you."

Kaoru snickered.

Raine blinked in confusion.

She had a friend with a twin brother in middle school and it still made her uncomfortable to be around them while they finished each other sentences, either aloud or in their minds. It was as if she was hearing a very intimate conversation not fit for company. She vaguely wondered whom they were talking about, but before she could ask, she was pulled into the mansion with one brother on each side.

She was marched up the stairs to a room with fabrics draped over every bit of spare furniture. The only thing that was not covered up was the mirror, a large block in the center of the room, and a table holding needles, pins, and scissors.

They stood her on the block and told her to turn, slowly. She did. One brother, the one she figured had to be Kaoru, jerked her shoulders back and told her to stand with better posture. She glared, but did so, despite the unpleasantness of it.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Kaoru." The one called Hikaru asked his brother in Japanese. Raine had to take a minute to translate this, as her Japanese was still not perfect.

Kaoru answered, in English, "Long graceful neck, small hips, large bust line," Raine blushed, "I can't decide until we see her back."

Both Hitachiins suddenly acquired mischievous grins and turned to speak directly to her, "Strip!"

"WHAT?" Raine shrieked.

"Either you do it, or we'll do it for you." Hikaru answered.

Raine complied, figuring that they were either gay or completely detached from their customers, because save for the pleasure they took in her discomfort, there had been nothing but professionalism since the shock of seeing her at the door. She was so glad she had decided to shave and wear matching underwear that morning.

"Let's see," Hikaru said, "This is to be a formal affair?"

Raine nodded once.

Once again, they directed her to turn, and said in unison, "Halter, in midnight blue, floor length, full skirts and low back."

Raine goggled. It was amazing how they were in accord. She opened her mouth to ask about choosing fabric but they were far ahead of her, laying out bolts of midnight blue fabric. Each bolt had a different texture or pattern, and one even had silver strands running through it that shimmered when moved. Running a hand over the iridescent fabric, she sighed. It was silk taffeta.

Kaoru, who had been watching the young woman, lifted up the fabric and said, "This for the bodice, I think. Brother?"

Hikaru, the less observant of the two, nodded, and then saw her brush the tulle with gentle fingers, "The skirt," he whispered to his brother.

Kaoru nodded in agreement, and set that aside, too. The young woman who was to marry their friend floated about the room as if in a dream. So far, she had said nothing. There had been no questions about Kyouya, as many women he sent to them for dresses had. Nor had she questioned them about Haruhi, wondering why she would give up such a powerful position in society to have a ménage a trois with two men who were suspected of being homosexuals.

Obviously, Kyouya had told her some about them, otherwise she would have gaped in awe upon seeing twin, male fashion designers. Now Kaoru wanted to know why she had not been told that they were dating/living/sleeping with Kyouya's former fiancée. It was usually the first thing Kyouya told a woman, so that she would feel intimidated when coming to visit, and curious.

Then, he remembered that he was not trying to get rid of this woman as he had the others. This was one girl he was trying his best to keep, and very possibly impress. Kyouya seemed to be doing a very good job of the second one, as Raine Wilson wandered about the room, gazing at the fabrics and gaping at the richness of it all, though Kaoru found himself wishing that instead of using his friends to impress the girl that Kyouya would use himself.

Hikaru slid next to him, twitching every time Raine caressed a fabric or opened a drawer. "Can we get her measurements and make her leave now?" he whispered urgently, "Her touching our things is really starting to bother me." He looked at Kaoru with pleading eyes. Kaoru used the same face on him when he wanted something badly, so he knew how it worked.

Kaoru sighed, "Yes, if it bothers you that greatly, we will." He motioned the girl onto the block, took her measurements and shortly after, Raine Wilson found herself standing on the front steps again, with a bewildered look upon her face.

* * *

The next morning a package arrived containing a floor-length, halter-style dress that dipped tastefully in the back to just above her hips. The bodice was the iridescent dark blue with the tulle skirts, which flared out like Cinderella's ball gown. A sparkling diamond hair piece accompanied it, along with matching jewelry and a note.

The note read:

_To my future sister-in-law. With love, Shido Fuyumi._

Raine swore loudly. Not only did this force her to go to the ball, but it also meant she had to _like_ it.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, I am quite aware that I have trouble ending my chapters. I really didn't want to end it this way, but it was getting horribly long, and I am running short on time!!

OMG OMG OMG! The Ouran Anime needs to come out TODAY!! NOT next Monday!! I am going to go NUTS if I have to wait until Monday! Okay, FUNimation! Let's step it up and tell me which channel it's going to be on!

Sorry, mad fangirl rant is over, I promise.


	7. Insufferable

__

I am temperamental  
_Like a heart without a home  
__I am sentimental  
__But you don't know me at all  
__I have expectations  
__I wanna be the one you call  
__And I want a conversation  
__But you don't know me at all  
__Hold on tight, I'm a revolution  
__Close your eyes, I'll blow your mind  
__Why do I have to explain who I am again and again?  
_**"Revolution"**(The Veronicas)

**A/N:** Ooo. Two updates in a week! Lol. Here comes the fighting. I'm not really sure whose head is being chomped off in this one, though I'm pretty sure one gets a good bite out of the other before it's through.

In addition, I must beg forgiveness for my atrocious Spanish. It has been a couple of (long) years since I have had it. (AP classes be damned. If you don't constantly speak it, taking higher levels doesn't help.)

* * *

Raine sat with her head on the desk in the office her father assigned. Vaguely, she wondered how she could not know that they had an_ entire building_ in Japan. Her brain steered away from that subject and on to the more pleasing one of what was for lunch.

Brilliant as she was, it was too difficult to think. It was Monday, and Mondays were just not her thing.

The two-way intercom on her telephone buzzed. Raine switched from resting her forehead on the desk to her chin so that she could properly glare at the flashing light. Had she not given specific instructions to her personally secretary stating that she was not to be disturbed? She was sure she had, and was ready to commit murder by the third buzz.

It took the will power of ten humans (and annoyance) to lift her up far enough to press the flashing red button, "What?"

The secretary whimpered, "I know you said that you weren't to be disturbed, Miss Wilson, but he's insisting!"

"Who?"

"Mr. Ootori, ma'am," Margarita practically squeaked. The secretary was new, and Raine understood that she did not want to lose her job, but she was going to have to talk to her about being scared of anything that moved. Sometimes she became nervous enough to switch back into her native language (Spanish) and forget her English.

_Bastard, _She thought, before pressing the button again, "Send him in."

As the heavy oak door to her office opened, Raine straightened herself up in her chair, and made herself look presentable. Her secretary entered first, pushing the door open for the pompous ass that is Kyouya Ootori. She glared appropriately, as he entered the room.

She really was beginning to dislike him, and not because he had interrupted her nap/Monday-morning-recovery-time, either.

"Señorita Margarita, me trae otra taza de café, por favor."

"Pero has tenido ya tres tazas!"

"Uno más." Raine held up one finger and begged with her eyes. Her secretary sighed and walked out to see if she could convince the janitorial staff to hand over another cup.

She then pierced her intruder with another glare. He stared back. She glared harder and somehow he only managed to look disinterested. She wanted to punch him. He refused to look properly intimidated.

"Well?" she snapped.

He raised his eyebrows.

"What do you want?"

He moved, still not saying a word, and sat in the chair that had been positioned in front of her absolutely huge desk.

_How annoying, _Raine thought, _First he barges in, without being invited and then he doesn't speak. I really should punch him. _

She studied him. He wore another white button up shirt, this time completely buttoned, and with a black tie. His pants were just black slacks. She could not see his shoes, so she decided to imagine him wearing pink bunny slippers. Somehow, it did not seem possible.

"Are you always this grumpy in the morning?" She jolted. He spoke!

"Only when people rudely interrupt it."

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly before settling into that hard line in which it seemed to be stuck. "Ah."

There was another stony silence before Raine spoke again, "So, are you going to tell me why you barged in on my morning, or are you going to sit there and stare at me like a complete moron?" She snapped at him.

There was another raise of his eyebrows, and he shrugged, "You should know why I'm here. I left a message with, and sent an e-mail to your father."

She groaned, and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Mr. Ootori, I believe that we need to have a few things cleared up here. One being my father. While he may be the head of this company on paper, I run it. He makes no decisions nor does he alert me to meetings that might possibly be coming my way. That is my secretary's job." She leaned forward, laying her arms on the desk to support her. The silk lining of her tan business suit whispered at the slight movement, breaking the suddenly awkward silence.

"Further more, we have no contact with each other outside of board meetings, or matters, such as our marriage, that involve the entire family, so it would be in your interest to direct your wishes towards either Margarita, or myself." Raine smiled at the man sitting across from her. It was a cold smile, she knew, and it caused him to shift slightly, and glance away before returning her gaze with cool calculation.

She could tell she had angered him, yet she did not care, "You would do well to remember that, Kyouya Ootori."

"If I do not?" His eyebrows were raised again. That was going to be an annoying habit.

Raine just smiled, and Kyouya noticed, yet again, that it did not reach her eyes. "Point taken, Miss Wilson."

"Now, you will tell me why you're here, or I will call security to escort you out and have you filed as a public nuisance." She laughed. "Of course, I might do it anyway, just for the hell of it, even if you do have a valid reason for being here. This morning has been boring."

"So you would throw me out for your amusement?"

"Yes. You are, after all, being increasingly insufferable."

Anger glittered behind his wire-framed glasses, and she was almost frightened by the intensity of it. Almost.

A knock on the door interrupted his response.

"Come in." Two voices called, and Raine froze. She turned her intense glare back upon the Ootori heir and hissed, "What did you just say?"

The door opened, halting any further 'conversation' and Margarita took one look around the room, set the cup of coffee down quickly on the nearest table and escaped before her boss decided to turn that wrath upon her.

When the door was shut firmly, she turned back to her fiancé and said, very quietly, "Would you like to tell me who gave you the idea that you could say who can and who cannot enter _my_ office?"

Kyouya leaned forward onto her desk and assumed the same position she had, arms crossed and held just on the edge for support, "I did."

"Since when do you make decisions concerning me?"

"Since your father made the agreement with my father that included our marriage."

She stood and walk around her desk to look down on him, "That agreement only stated that your hospitals would receive free vaccines, nothing more and nothing less."

"You're wrong." He stood suddenly and she backed away. He was tall. She guessed around 6'2". To her 5'0" that was huge.

"No, I'm not." She said, quietly, "I've read that contract."

"So have I." He backed her up to her desk, and placed his hands on either side of her, and leaned, causing her to bend halfway backwards to avoid touching.

"Then you know that it says nothing on the subject of your control of me."

Kyouya wondered how she could still give him that glare when she was so obviously not in the position to. It amused him. Most grown _men_ would have run screaming by now, but this woman, barely 26 years old, had the guts to stand up to him.

"You are correct, but it does state that when our companies merge, I am the CEO of both, and when it comes down to it, all decisions made within this building are to be approved by me, that includes who enters and leaves your office."

"Picky, aren't we?" She smiled, and her eyes sparkled mischievously.

"Very." The anger had faded from his face, and she knew unless he was angry, he would never leave.

"If you're so picky, then why did you have a relationship with that commoner, Haruhi Fujioka?"

The cold mask melted back over his face, and he backed away, "That was low."

She let her own mask of indifference take over, and whispered, "You're right. It was, but so was your comment. Do you think I do not know that you know everything about me? I know you know that I spent years in America fighting for women's rights. The entire world knows it and still you go and rub it in my face that I will have to submit to a man because of the decisions that my father, another man, has made."

She was standing straighter by now, and glowering.

Kyouya looked out the window behind her desk, "That does not excuse you from your rudeness."

"Of course it doesn't. Now, you will leave my office and you will not return until you have made an appointment with my secretary." She walked to her chair and sat, straightening the forms for the merger that she needed to sign.

"I'd prefer to deal directly with you, if you do not mind."

She looked up, "I do mind. I have said once before that you are insufferable, and after the conversation that we have just had, I find you even more so. I no longer wish to deal with you for such trivial matters. Please, leave."

"I am not the only unbearable one in this room, Miss Wilson."

Kyouya walked out, leaving Raine to stare holes in the door after him. When she was sure he was out of earshot, she shrieked and swept her hand across her desk, scattering forms and pens, in anger. When the last paper had settled, she opened the top drawer of her desk, took out a sheet of stationary, and proceeded to tear it, calmly, into tiny pieces.

She made her way through another two sheets before she wondered if she could calm her anger quicker by throwing things. She quickly decided against it, and signed off of her computer, so that she could take her lunch break.

She would have her revenge, and Kyouya Ootori would not like it at all.

Raine made a mental note to go buy some strappy sandals to have dyed to match her dress for the ball that Friday as she gazed out of her window and watched the world's most infuriating person step into his Porsche and drive away.

* * *

**A/N:** Lol. I know that some of you are going "When's the ball?!" I promise, it's coming. I wanted to put in something… to help move their relationship (If you can call it that) along. Not all of their fights will be this…intense, but like I said, gotta move it along, it's already chapter 7 and they've only seen each other once? Not good.


	8. Kiss the Girl

There's something in the way you cry.  
Something sort of sexy. You know you like it.  
Is there something, something on your mind?  
Tell me what you're thinking. God knows we're trying.  
I don't deserve the love that you've got to give.  
Give your heart to another man. Let another kiss your lips.  
I know I'm broken, but I'm not the only one.  
All I need is I don't know.  
Fuck! It just ain't fair.  
-"**Kiss the Girl" **_(Get Set Go)_

**A/N:** One of my readers has commented in a review that the language (lack of contractions during times of stress or anger, specifically) used by the characters in the dialogue is not appropriate for that of teenagers. I strongly feel the need to address this, seeing as how the story is going to go on pretty long, judging by my planning on future chapters.

Kyouya, the rest of the Host Club and Raine are not teenagers. Their ages (respectively) are as follows:

Kyouya: 28  
Raine: 26  
Haruhi: 27  
Kaoru & Hikaru: 27  
Tamaki: 28  
Hani: 29  
Mori: 29

Also, one thing I was taught in Psychology is that in times of stress and anger, people tend to drop contractions; just a little tidbit of info for you there, guys. :)

I apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

Also, I apologize for my lack of updates. The monster known as college has eaten me alive. I have not had time to do much besides plan the story out.

* * *

For the first time in his life, Kyouya walked away from a business partner and a woman, furious. He could not believe she had to nerve to fight him on this. It was done. The contract was signed, and there was nothing either of them could do about it. Of course, he did not have to take it so far as to say that he had control over who entered and left her office, but damn the woman infuriated him. He could not remember ever fighting that hard with someone. Not even Haruhi, with her spark had fought him so hard.

He accelerated smoothly onto the freeway, headed towards his home. He really just wanted to drive as fast as he could, aimlessly, until he felt better, however he had business to attend to.

Also, to top it all off, he had not even managed to talk to her about why he had come to her office in the first place. Fuyumi had called him.

Apparently, his lovely new wife-to-be had neglected to RSVP to her own party before the deadline, so he needed to call in a few favors so that extra food would be available when she showed. Which, she obviously planned to do, seeing as how she took him up on his offer to visit the Hitachiin's estate and pick out a dress. So, he had hoped to take his fiancée to lunch, and discuss her lack of etiquette when it came to his family.

However, he had ended up nearly getting kicked out by security (he did not doubt her ability to make good on her threats), and for some reason, he had developed an insane desire to kiss her half way through. That last one he did not even want to touch at the moment, so he pushed it to the back of his mind.

Kyouya pressed on the acceleration even harder, feeling his Porsche gather speed and fly down the freeway. Almost instantly, he felt his anger fade. If only he could do this while arguing with that woman, then maybe he would be able to think rationally. Then maybe he would not want to make out with her in the middle of her office.

_Don't think about that._ He told himself.

How was he supposed to know that she and her father never had any contact? Gripping the steering wheel tighter, he changed lanes, moving into the fast lane so that he could cool his family's affairs when he reached home. He could not go on making such mistakes and risking her anger every time he wished to speak to her.

Pulling into his long driveway, Kyouya mulled over their argument once again, with a cooler head. She was defensive from the moment he entered her office, seemingly unannounced. Also, she was hurt easily by his comment that she followed his rules, and not vice-versa. Obviously, she liked being in control, and disliked being interrupted without a direct invitation.

Maybe they would get along better than he thought. After all, he had chosen her personally. It's not like he could back out now, even if the marriage was one of convenience. (The vaccines were extremely expensive to produce, and buying them at retail value would take huge chunks out of the Ootori accounts, despite the vast amounts of money his family had.)

Although, he had wanted that kiss…

_No!_ _Don't go there._ He slammed the door on that particular thought once again.

Stepping out of his car, he tossed his keys to his personal valet, and walked into his family's mansion, pointedly ignoring his housekeeper, who bowed low and asked him if he needed anything. Kyouya headed straight for his bedroom suite, and locked himself in it, contemplating banging his head on the wall in frustration, then deciding that it would be unprofessional to do so.

A light blinked next to his personal phone. _A message?_Kyouya thought, _Who would be calling me in the middle of the day on my personal line?_

After pressing the button, and hearing the voice coming through the speaker, Kyouya berated himself for even questioning who it was. Of course it was Tamaki, and he was _delighted_ to hear that his best friend was getting married after such a long stint of the bachelor life. Then he asked him, in a more serious voice, to call him back.

_He knows_, Kyouya told himself. _He knows that I would never marry willingly, despite what the papers say, and wants to know what has gotten in to me. _

The knowledge that his best friend knew him better than his own father did disturbed him only slightly, but it was not enough to keep him from picking up the phone and dialing Tamaki's summer home in France.

"Tamaki residence, this is Sasaki-san speaking." A cool male voice answered.

"Sasaki-san, this is Kyouya Ootori. Is Suou-san available? I must speak with him."

"Of course, Ootori-sama, I will connect you immediately." Came the professional reply, and the phone immediately connected to another line, which rang twice, before being answered.

"Tamaki Suou's office. How may I help you?"

Kyouya nearly laughed at the professional tone his friend of almost 15 years took on when answering his business phone, but decided against it. There was a reason Tamaki was a successful businessman, and he should not laugh at it.

"Hello, Tamaki."

"Kyouya! How are you?" Tamaki sounded genuinely please to hear his voice, so Kyouya added to his list of things to do more often 'Call friends.'

"I suppose I'm doing fine," he said. "Of course, I could be doing much better, as you may well know by now." He pressed his head into his hand and rubbed where he could feel the headache forming from today's earlier tensions.

"I know. May I ask what prompted this sudden change of heart in choosing your bride?" Tamaki knew that for a while, Kyouya had managed to fight off his father's demands, and was showing no signs of giving in.

Kyouya laughed. It was joyless, and cynical, and made Tamaki cringe. "Have you seen her picture, Tamaki? Have they released that to the press, yet? I know it was stupid of me to choose her for that, but I was just so helpless when it came down to it in the end, and I was so angry with my father for his constant efforts…"

_So, he's found a Haruhi-look-alike…_ Tamaki thought. _That explains everything._

Kyouya cleared his throat, and his tone became more professional, and less emotional, "But that doesn't matter now. We're committed to each other through a contract of our fathers' devising."

Shocked by his friend's rare display of emotion, Tamaki took a while to respond. After a long silence he answered, "Kyouya, it does matter. You're going to have to live with this woman for the rest of your life. To answer your question, however, no I haven't seen her picture, but judging from what you've said, you chose her for the wrong reasons. Can you really stand to wake up every morning and look at her face and remember Haruhi? Think about that, my friend. Think long and hard about it. There's still time to call it off, even if the contract's been signed."

"No, Tamaki, there isn't. There's no pre-nuptial agreement, and there's a clause that says I cannot back out of the marriage at the last minute, and neither can she. Divorce is an option if we truly cannot stand living with each other, but only after long sessions of marriage counseling. My father has covered every possible base."

Tamaki swore. He should have known. Kyouya's father was crafty enough to realize that they would not be compatible at first, and would insist they work it out, instead of creating a huge public scandal. Ootoris did _not_ divorce, and most certainly did _not _have marriage problems.

A beep sounded, alerting Tamaki to his other line, and he quickly said good-bye to his friend, and signed off.

After he set the phone back in its cradle, Kyouya lay his head on his cool, metal desk, and breathed deeply, like his sister taught him to during her brief obsession with yoga, and contemplated what he was going to do with his difficult new fiancée.

Insufferable? Ha! He'd show her insufferable. Besides, he could use a little bit of amusement in the coming months. Maybe he would even get that kiss.

_Stop that!_

_

* * *

_

**A/N:** Err… I apologize for the awkwardness of this chapter. I'm just getting out of my college "15 page formal paper" writing style, and trying to get back into a more readable style for all of those without a Doctorate in British Literature.

Thank you for reading, and if you are one of the readers who has stuck with it from the beginning, thank you for not giving up on me. :)


	9. Crossing Over

Laughin' with your pretty mouth,  
Laughin' with your broken eyes,  
Laughin' with your lover's tongue,  
In a lullaby.  
Where do you go when you're lonely?  
Where do you go when you're blue?  
Where do you go when you're lonely?  
I'll follow you,  
When the stars go blue.**  
-"When the Stars Go Blue"**_(Tim McGraw)_

**A/N: **So I finally got back on track at University, and have begun to get my life in order. Now that I'm on a break in between semesters, I will gladly, gladly update this story more regularly. Perhaps I shall even update another chapter tonight. ;) Thank you for your patience with me, kind readers. I have had quite an adventure in my life these past few months. Luckily, with a kind lover and some therapy, I have begun to find myself again and my passions. Don't give up on this story, or me as an author of fanfiction, yet.

* * *

Raine pulled on the satin gloves, which fit neatly over her elbows, and snugly around her forearms. They were just the right shade to set off the deep blue of her gown. Bravely, she sat in front of the vanity in the penthouse, awaiting the atrocity the hairdresser hired by the Ootoris wished to bestow upon her. Hair was pulled and tucked away; sprayed and gelled; combed and picked until her short boyish hair-do managed to look like a twisted coif at the back of her head. The jeweled hairpiece sat neatly behind her fringe, and complimented the shimmer of her make-up, perfectly.

Once finished, she allowed Mrs. Smith to lead her to the full-length mirror in the master bedroom suite. One look and Raine breathed, "My God, I look like a frosted cupcake."

"You look lovely, Miss Wilson."

"You're required to say that, Mrs. Smith," she smiled. "My father would have you fired if you said otherwise."

"Be that as it may, you do look lovely. You just are not used to looking like a proper lady, with all of your tattered jeans and tank top shirts."

"I own skirts, thank you very much."

"Very few, Miss Wilson," Mrs. Smith gathered up her dirty laundry and deposited it in a basket, "And those long skirts that look like they survived Woodstock do not count."

"I happen to _like _those!"

A grimace here, "I know."

The buzzer signaling the front desk was calling went off at the door. Mrs. Smith hurried to answer it, knowing it to be the limo driver to escort her charge off to the engagement party being thrown by Fuyumi Shido.

Raine sank down into the cushioning comfort of the sofa. She hoped that this engagement _ball_ would be better than her first date with Kyouya Ootori had been. She did not want to spend the evening in silence. She did not want to spend the evening arguing. Perhaps they might be pleasant towards each other, and maybe even like each other a little this night. If they did, then this marriage may not be such a disaster after all.

Although, she only wished this since she had finally reviewed the marriage and corporate consolidation contracts. There was no way out once she had boarded that plane on the fateful flight over the Pacific Ocean. Raine Skyy Wilson was trapped completely, and she was determined to make the best of it.

"Miss Wilson, your limo has arrived."

"Yes, Mrs. Smith. Tell them I will be down shortly."

She picked up her clutch purse, a pale blue to offset the gloves and the hairpiece. She picked up the jewelry box, opened it and clasped the diamond necklace Shido-san (She must remember to call her that until the wedding. She was not quite family, yet.) gifted to her around her neck, and slipped the diamond drop earrings into her first pierced holes. She left the second pierced holes in her lobes and her cartilage piercings empty, out of courtesy for her new family. She did not think they were quite ready for something that radical yet.

"Miss Wilson."

She paused, "Yes…?"

"This is a huge night for you. Everyone will be watching, expecting to see a great lady the second those elevator doors open downstairs."

"I remember." How could she not? Kyouya had called to remind her that the Japanese press had now been officially alerted to their marriage, and that tonight was not only her debut into Japanese society, but also to the Japanese people. In status, she would be a Duchess, without the title, and everyone expected her to act the part.

"I hope that you will make me proud, Miss Wilson."

"Of course, ma'am," she gave a little half smile underneath her sudden and new nervousness, "I would never wish to do anything that would keep you from being proud of me."

Raine reached one satin clad hand out and pressed the button next to the penthouse elevator. The light flickered out immediately as a soft chime rang throughout the room and the doors opened wide, allowing her to step in.

Waving at Mrs. Smith, she felt the doors lurch shut, and the elevator begin its descent to the lobby. _Breathe,_ she told herself, _this is only an engagement party. Girls have them all the time back home. You're no different._

Except, the thing is, she _was _different. There was no twisting that logic around to make her seem normal, and to make her seem like she was marrying a simple young man back in the States. No, she was marrying the son of a former line of Dukes.

She might as well have been marrying the Emperor himself, for all the media cared. The whole night was a media stunt, and the cameras would be on her, and every socialite eye would be watching her for the first time since her arrival in Japan. This was her official media debut as the future wife and co-owner of the Ootori enterprise. The next morning she would be criticized from her posture to her eye color in the papers and tabloids.

The young heiress knew she could not escape this, so with all of the grace she could muster, she stepped out into the lobby, and into the blinding flashes of the paparazzi, contained behind velvet ropes leading a narrow path to the doors of the hotel and her waiting limousine.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for the angst! But I figured that it was the best way to write this chapter. She is after all, losing her privacy for the rest of her life, unless she is in her hotel room, her office or behind the walls of the Ootori mansion.

Read & Review, my lovely readers. I'm always happy to answer questions, and to take suggestions and criticisms.


	10. Decisions

Who do you think you are?  
Runnin' 'round leaving scars,  
Collecting your jar of hearts,  
And tearing love apart.  
You're gonna catch a cold,  
From the ice inside your soul.  
So don't come back for me.  
Who do you think you are?  
**-"Jar of Hearts"** _(Christina Perri)_

**A/N: **This chapter was rather difficult to write. I wanted to do a chapter illustrating Kyouya's view of the whole engagement party, since we've only seen Raine's viewpoints, and it's difficult to do Kyouya justice on such little sleep. Enjoy!

* * *

He stood outside of his sister's home in the suburbs. He never understood why Fuyumi and her husband decided to live in the suburbs, instead of in a nice mansion out in the country somewhere, or an expensive apartment in Tokyo, with high-tech security, but he would learn to deal with it this night. Granted, they _did _live in the high class suburbs, with houses nearly as large as what he considered to be a mansion, yet for him it was too close together. He liked _not_ listening to his neighbors argue, thank you very much.

The noise surrounding the house and Kyouya was deafening. Paparazzi as far as the eye could see; lined up in neighbors' yards, and in the few feet of the street they let them stand in, as traffic on one side of the normally quiet neighborhood was blocked off, allowing limousines and the various other expensive cars to only drive one way.

One of the reporters called his name, and asked how he _really_ felt about the marriage. Kyouya raised his and in a slight wave, and gave his disarming smile that was only reserved for public occasions, or meetings with big clients. In other words, his fake smile, meant to show that he was enjoying the pleasure of your company, and of course you could sign on the dotted line and not expect any loopholes. This seemed to satisfy the reporter, who turned away and stuck his microphone out in front of the American Ambassador who had just stepped out of his Rolls-Royce.

He wished his father had not decided to make a formal, black-tie occasion their first media appearance as a couple. Kyouya was feeling the most desperate need to tug at his collar, and loosen his tie. He hated ties.

Haruhi hated his ties, too. In fact, she had always removed his once they had left school grounds, and then kissed him soundly, declaring that Kyouya-senpai was much more kissable without it. She insisted on calling him 'senpai' even when their relationship had become semi-public. It became a kind of pet name that to this day, Kyouya could not hear in his continuing education classes without a pang of regret and hurt.

But now was not the time for that. Now, Kyouya was more focused on what to do with his soon-to-be bride. He had decided the night after their terrible argument in her office that he could not stand her, and would never be able to stand her. He had made the executive decision that their marriage was to be like his father's: one of convenience when it came to business deals in the vaccinations for breast cancer, and when it came to producing an heir. That was all it was to be.

Raine's attitude, he felt, was going to make this much easier than everyone thought, especially since they had to work together. Also, Kyouya decided in the next few seconds that her nose was slightly large and flat, and her ears stuck out too far. He hoped his children would have his nose. He would not worry too much about the ears. Those were fixed easily.

He straightened up a bit after thinking about these things, and made a note to himself to propose the idea that the marriage be only of convenience after the engagement party. He had no doubt that she would agree, seeing as how she loathed him practically as much as he did her, if not more so. In fact, she would jump for joy, if Kyouya's predictions were correct. (They usually were. Kyouya always knew what was best and what everyone would want. If he was wrong, he would eat his shorts.)

"Otouto!" Fuyumi's laughing voice broke him out of his musings, "Your wife is arriving! Are you not excited?"

She stood next to him in her A-line evening gown, which had been dyed a deep garnet, and embroidered in black. Her hair held a ruby comb, allowing the rest of her somewhat short hair to fall free, and brush her shoulders.

"Thrilled." Kyouya answered, with a straight, bored face. The last thing in the world he wanted to face was Raine Wilson. "Fuyumi, nee-san, shouldn't you be inside doing something with the cake or the champagne?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Kyouya! I want to see your lovely new bride! Oh, but speaking of food, we ordered the cake to be slightly less sweet, so you might enjoy it, too. It's almond flavored, and somewhat dry, so it doesn't quite absorb your sweet sense as much." Fuyumi seemed pleased with herself for remembering this small detail, and Kyouya rewarded her with a genuine smile of pleasure.

"Thank you, nee-san, I shall be sure to try some, in that case."

"It was no problem at all, Kyouya," She beamed up at him, "Oh, look! There's her limousine!"

Fuyumi hurried down to the bottom of the steps, and out to the side of the road. Raine stepped out, looking slightly bewildered, and blinked rapidly to adjust her eyes to the flashes of the cameras going off about her. Yet, she did not raise her hand to hide her face, or get angry at the reporters. Instead, she took Fuyumi's hands in her own, smiled graciously and said a few words, before allowing herself to be lead up the sidewalk.

Kyouya descended the stairs as planned, to meet them at the bottom and take her hand for their entrance into his sister's ballroom. As he did so, he found a grudging respect for the way Raine handled the flashes of the paparazzi cameras, and the way she determinedly ignored the microphones being thrust into her face, and the questions being yelled at her from the crowd. It also helped that she looked lovely. The twins had certainly done an amazing job on the woman who seemed to favor jeans, and t-shirts, and high-top sneakers.

The dark blue dress made her porcelain pale skin stand out even more. The blush on her cheeks seemed even more pink, and the blonde of her hair almost platinum. Her hair had been styled in a way that made it look as if she had a lady's long locks, and not the short cropped style she sported for convenience's sake.

He reached the bottom of the steps, and held out a hand, just as she reached him. She placed her dainty hand in his, and was offered the same smile that had been given to the reporter not fifteen minutes beforehand. A small nod from her, and a slight, but warm smile of her own, and they began their ascent to the house. Fuyumi had already hurried up the stairs to alert the guests that the couple of honor had arrived.

"I have something I wish to discuss with you, Raine." Kyouya began, bringing up his earlier decision, so she would not be surprised at it later. "Something concerning our future, unavoidable marriage, and I would like very much that it be discussed directly after our party."

"Of course, Kyouya, as you wish." She gave him the small smile again, and then turned forward to face the double doors before them. One of the Shido's servants opened them and allowed them to pass into the foyer, where another set of double doors were wide open on the left side.

Kyouya took Raine's hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm, and began to walk towards the doors of the ballroom, hearing his sister say with the great enthusiasm she liberally applied to whatever task was at hand, "Please welcome my brother, Kyouya Ootori, and his future wife, Raine Wilson. We are all extremely proud of them both!"

_If only you knew, nee-san_. Kyouya thought, concerning his earlier decision to not have anything to do with the woman on his arm. _You would not be so proud of me, if you knew._

However, what Kyouya did not know was that while he made his decision to become cold and efficient towards his future wife, Raine had made the decision a half hour earlier to make the best out of this marriage and be happy; that she was tired of coldness and of convenience.

So both made their way into the ballroom with different expectations of the same event, oblivious that one had finally given in to what was first wanted by the other in the beginning.

* * *

**A/N:** I took the liberty of using Japanese honorifics in this chapter. According to my professor, honorifics are extremely important in Japan, and that one is rarely addressed without one.

Translations of Japanese honorifics and an explanation of each:

**Otouto-** Little brother; Otouto is used when talking about one's own younger brother, and when directing a statement towards him. It is never used with '-chan' or '-kun' due to the fact that to do so would be disrespectful and seen as looking down upon the sibling in question.

**Nee-san-** A variation on "Onee-san", which is used when referring to an older sister. Nee-san is seen as an informal and more appropriate in family situations, as "Onee-san" is extremely formal, and mostly used when discussing another's older sister. In this case '-san' is a sign of respect to the older, wiser sibling.

**-Senpai**- Used when referring to someone who is above you in years, while in school. The honorific shows that the speaker thinks the student he is addressing is much wiser in their courses of study, and therefore above the speaker in 'rank.'

I've been studying hard. Can you tell? ;P


	11. Shock

Hello.  
Is it me you're looking for?  
'Cause I wonder where you are  
And I wonder what you do  
Are you somewhere feeling lonely,  
Or is someone loving you?  
Tell me how to win your heart,  
For I haven't got a clue  
But let me start by saying  
"I love you."  
**-"Hello"** _(Lionel Ritchie)_

**A/N:** Well, this would have been posted much earlier if the current events that have just transpired in America hadn't happened and my final exams hadn't eaten my brain. My apologies.

* * *

The couple was required to dance the Viennese Waltz. Why the damned Viennese Waltz and not the English Waltz was beyond Raine's comprehension at the moment. She hated with a passion the faster version, as she was no good at it. She knew she was about to make a fool of herself. However, if Kyouya danced it as well as he was assuring her he did, then perhaps she would only look a little stiff as she followed the lead.

He held out his hand to her, and she placed it in his as the music started. Swinging her into the first step, he had no trouble whirling her around the dance floor in front of every socialite in Japan. Raine silently thanked God he had been telling her the truth.

"Relax into my hold. You're too stiff and it's making things difficult for me," Kyouya muttered as they took another turn.

"Sorry." The reply came through gritted teeth, as she realized he knew she did not know the dance as well as he did. Sudden regret for turning down many dance invitations filled her, along with the thought that debutantes should be taught this Waltz, not that silly slow Waltz everyone insisted was much more elegant. This one was far more exciting.

Of course, she could think of other far more exciting ballroom dances she would rather dance, than this one. Perhaps she would teach them to her husband, as she was positive he only knew the international dances.

They quite suddenly came to a dizzying halt, at which Raine performed her best curtsy, and allowed herself to be lead away from the dance floor. The applause was polite, and there were smiles on everyone's faces. It seemed that she had not messed the dance up too terribly.

Fuyumi walked to the center of the dance floor once again, and bid her guests in a cheerful voice to enjoy themselves, the dancing and the feast placed along the left side of the hall.

Raine looked around for a chair to collapse into as a group of young men and ladies hurried up to Kyouya and congratulated him on his engagement, and generally made a scene she would not have expected her future husband to be the kind of man to put up with.

The tall blonde was especially annoying. He spoke in a mix of Japanese and French and generally made an idiot of himself as he chattered on excitedly and got within millimeters of her fiancé's face. A young lady with glasses stood behind him, looking disinterested in the display before her. A tall dark-haired man and a rather short blonde man (boy?) stood next to her. The smaller blonde held the hand of a young lady who had an air about her that made Raine shudder.

He was the first to notice her, the shorter man of the group. "Hajimemashite. Haninozuka desu. Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu." He gave a quick bow. Raine scrambled to remember her Japanese etiquette lessons.

"Uh… Um… Hajimemashite! Wilson desu. Kochira koso yoroshiku…onegaishimasu!" A small, polite bow, and a sigh of relief. She hated remembering Japanese under pressure. She had only been speaking it for 3 weeks, after all.

Haninozuka-san said something else, very quickly, and Raine just blinked. Kyouya responded, and Haninozuka-san translated, "I'm sorry, Ms Wilson. I didn't realize you weren't fluent in Japanese yet. Forgive me. I asked if you were enjoying it here?"

"Oh! Yes, I am enjoying it here. It's very lovely." She smiled. "Also, it's much cooler for March here than it is in America."

"That makes me very happy to hear!" He bestowed upon here one of his glowing, childish smiles, turned to the woman next to him, and said, "This is Haninozuka Reiko. She is my wife."

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," The woman looked at her husband, without a single change in expression, "I'd like to dance, please."

"Okay! It was nice to meet Kyou-kun's fiancée, Ms Wilson! I hope we spend lots of time together once you are finally married! It's always wonderful to have new friends!"

The rest of the group had moved away and were talking amongst themselves when Raine turned back after watching Kyouya's friend practically skip out onto the dance floor. She made eye contact with Kyouya, turned her head slightly to the side in question, and he shook his head. Taking this as a sign that nothing more was expected of her, she began to make her way around the room. Every American businessperson and the Ambassador made their way to shake her hand, and to introduce her to some Japanese socialite or other, while she bowed and introduced herself and took business cards from hospital board members and doctors with promises to give them to her father.

A quick glance back in the direction of Kyouya's friends, whom she thought she had figured out which were which, told her that he was no longer there, and that the twins that designed her dress had arrived. She wondered if they had dates.

Raine decided to ask later, as she realized rather suddenly that she was starving, and that the nausea from being forced to dance in front of a group of people she did not know was passing. Looking to see if anyone heard her stomach rumble, she made her way around the wall of the ballroom towards the banquet table.

The choices to select from were wide in variety, and Raine chose a seasoned, baked chicken breast and some potatoes with herbs on them. A server came by and offered her a glass of wine that he assured her would compliment her meal perfectly. Doubtful, Raine accepted anyway, and was surprised to realize he was correct. The empty plate was left at the little, round table set up in the corner, and she rose with her wine glass to go find her fiancé, as she figured she should make at least an effort to seem like they were interested in each other.

She walked in front of a pillar towards the back of the ballroom, and heard a distinctly familiar voice speaking in Japanese.

Now, as Raine had not been speaking Japanese terribly long, she did not quite understand the majority of the conversation, but she had taken it upon herself to learn all the horrible things she could to tell Kyouya when she had met him. As she listened, she knew it was Kyouya, and she knew he was speaking to a young woman with a deep alto voice. She heard a few of those words she had taught herself. She also heard the word "fiancée" and stopped.

If Raine listened intently, she could understand Japanese somewhat better than if she was simply listening to be polite, so she concentrated.

"Kyouya, I am truly happy for you."

"No, you aren't."

"I am! She is the kind of woman you are well matched with."

"Hardly."

"Don't be that way, Kyouya! Surely she's at least tolerable."

"No, actually, she's barely tolerable. I can't stand her, and I don't intend to try to do so. I hope to be rid of her company as soon as…" The next part Raine could barely understand. She was expected to produce something. She had a sneaking suspicion the word was "heir", but she would argue that later. What bothered her now were the words emerging from Kyouya's mouth. The next few sentences were easier to understand, as Mrs. Smith enjoyed watching Japanese soap operas during the day while she cleaned.

"That's horrible, Kyouya."

"She's horrible. Not I. I refuse to have anything to do with her. I refuse to love her."

"Don't say such things. I'm sure you will in time."

"No, I will never love anyone as I love you."

"…Don't say that. You know we can't… Not anymore."

"Haruhi…"

She had a name.

"Oh, Kyouya, you know I still love you, also…"

Raine's blood ran cold, and she stopped listening. Why would he agree to marry her if he was in love with another woman? Especially if that woman still loved him in return? She turned on her heel, and tried to remember how to breathe. Luckily, she was hidden behind an extremely large potted plant, otherwise those watchful eyes would be upon her, and her shocked expression would be printed on the next day's paper's front page.

She nearly stumbled into a very tall man, who had appeared suddenly behind her as she tried to walk away as quickly as possible.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She said in English, forgetting in her sudden rampage of emotions that he probably would not understand her, and looked up. The man looking down at her was one of Kyouya's friends. Mori, she believed, if she remembered Kyouya's descriptions correctly; the always silent, ever watchful protector of Haninozuka-san.

There was no expression on his face, but he took her arm, and the way he said, "Come," made her realize he had heard everything, and was infinitely sorry that she had, too.

"I'm fine, really. Please let me go. I must get back to the party. It is for…for us after all, me and Kyouya." She still spoke English, and the way Mori looked at her (she wondered about his full name), she knew he spoke English as well as he did Japanese. He just chose not to speak at all if he had a choice.

"Come," he said again, expression still not changing, but with concern in his voice.

Hearing concern from a complete stranger over her non-existent relationship with her future husband, when her own father had shoved her into this mess, made Raine's throat swell up. She had no friends here, and this man who, before this she would have bet her entire fortune on being on his friend's side of things, was willing to offer her a distraction or comfort against what she had just heard.

He spoke again, startling Raine out of her thoughts and self-pity, "What Kyouya says is never to comfort those around him. It is to benefit him only. Come." He put her hand on his arm, and turned them both to face the ballroom.

"O-okay…" She whispered. "Thank you."

They began to walk, and she absorbed what he had just said. She knew she should, as Raine was sure that she would probably never hear such a long speech from this man again, and for him to speak so much meant that it must be important for her to know.

As he lead her back to the right side of the ballroom, towards where his friends had sat earlier, Raine saw Kyouya emerge from the left crowd, a small young woman with her hand in his, onto the ballroom floor.

* * *

**A/N: **To quote Potter Puppet Pals- ANGST ANGST ANGST ANGST! Also, I believe Mori would do something like this for someone who has been hurt by one of his friends. He has a strong sense of what is right, and of chivalry. (Don't give me that "chivalry is sexist" crap. Everyone can be chivalrous. Even women.)

That is all. Cookies if you review. And I mean real ones. Not that stuff you buy in the refrigerated section of Wal-Mart.


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